This may be the first time a Prime Minister has had lunch in Parliament’s canteen; a good meal for Rs.29 (“ >A buzz over the diner ,” March 3). But the fact is that committee after parliamentary committee has failed to file reports on the need to revise food prices in this very subsidised canteen, which have been revised only twice since Independence. It is significant that all prices of items — some examples are Rs.6.05, Rs.16.95 — are fixed and require payment/coins in denominations which are no longer minted. The salaries and allowances paid to parliamentarians are more than sufficient to enable them to afford normal food prices. They could be provided a subsidised meal in case a session extends till late evening and the canteen should be run on a no-profit/no-loss basis by forming a cooperative society of parliamentarians.
Madhu Agrawal,
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